Shelled
by Ariliana
Summary: Humans have destroyed their mother, Earth. Now a silent soldier, one of the few to survive, is traveling to find out the truth about humanity. And maybe...find the truth about himself as well.
1. Chapter 1 Goodbye and Hello

Shelled  
  
  
  
  
  
Earth had demolished herself. Perhaps it's more accurate though to say that humans had killed their mother, leaving behind an empty shell unable to sustain life. Blankly I stared out the window at the bleak expanse of space. The wars had been long. They had only ended with our mother's life blood. Humans were now too scattered through out the Galaxy to wage any mass war. I guess that's a good thing. No more Earths could be sacrificed to our overwhelmingly violent nature.  
  
A commotion on the other side of the shuttle's main room drew my attention. The people had gathered along the viewports ohhing and ahhing over the spectacular view of the planet near us. We would be reaching orbit in 15 minutes, entering in another hour or so.  
  
My lips pressed together angrily as I turned back to survey the stars. Areida. Hub of all Travel. It also happened to be the last place in the universe I wanted to be. It was a rather depressing planet with its nearly constant cloud cover and weak sun. Almost without conscious thought I smoothed my face back into its carefully blank lines. Years of training does wonders for hiding your emotions.  
  
And there goes the bell. The passengers who where just laughing and talking were now huddled in small groups wondering what the alarm could sound. I slipped through the doors without anyone noticing my absence. Not that they noticed my presence of course. I paused and drew a deep breath closing my eyes for a moment before wearily trudging back to my berth. Due to the Seiar-Conmei Edict (the two most heavily population colonization planets) any surviving natives of Earth were to be given free necessities. They didn't have to be decent, just free. Providing of course they have proof of their origin. A flicker of amusement passed through my face. Some colonists would have a hard time passing as natives in any case. Without my conscious direction, my body had climbed the latter to my berth and I was now laying down. Another hour to stare at the ceiling and remember……………………  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
This is the prologue. If you want I can continue this or not. It's really up to you guys. 


	2. Chapter 2 Memories and a Braid

Shelled.  
  
~~*~~ =Will bracket Memories  
  
  
  
  
  
~~*~~  
  
It was merely patrol. Nothing fancy, we were at about the third orbit out. Everyone else was in the games room, excepting those on duty. Patrol duty may be safe, but it is extremely boring. I was staring out at Earth, as usual. It started with a tiny flare. I thought perhaps it was the supply ship. We were overdue for some fresh food. Don't get me wrong, you can live on that concentrate junk for practically eternity, but fresh is nice. The flare blossomed. Then another, and another. Before I could react there was a nice big cloud of red and black boiling in the atmosphere. We found out later one of the nations got lucky…………  
  
A nuclear missile, outdated but still in use due to the long term effects, had managed to hit another nations store house of "nukes". It cascaded from there. Almost it seemed as if a giant monster was released from a centuries long sleep. Red and black with streaks of what could only be lightning. Even now I'm haunted with images of a demon forming out of those clouds.  
  
It wasn't over yet. The immense burst of radiation caught along the magnetosphere. Our ships are built to resist some radiation but the amount that swept towards us, towards the poles, was far to great. They don't know what the results will be from the two forces mixing… Our ship, The Crater, was thrown off orbit. We started to drift off towards Mars before anyone became conscious again. There may be no weight you can feel in space but you still have mass. And hitting a metal bulkhead is not pleasant no matter how you look at it.  
  
~~*~~  
  
  
  
I was broken of my reverie yet again by the clanging of the bell. Mechanically I pulled the restraints across my body. I shook my head minutely. Even in the smoothest landing they would probably break. A loud obnoxious voice decided echoed off the sterile walls.  
  
"I told ya already! I'm not a passenger!! I don't have a bunk here!" Barely bighting back a groan I unbuckled my safety restraints. 'fat lot of help they'll be' and climbed down avoiding the sprawling hand of the passenger below me. Sliding silently down the hall I listened to the rapidly growing argument.  
  
With a turn of a corner I landed upon the scene of the argument. A man, more of a boy really, dressed in black was arguing with two "stewards". They didn't serve any real function in a ship this size except to keep the passengers where they belonged. My eyes flickered over them, rapidly and correctly analyzing their personalities before training my eye on the boy. What he wore was similar to a priests outfit of several centuries ago. His violet seeming eyes were alight with the fires of anger and the braid that hung down his back was tousled as if he had just finished some type of work. For some reason I couldn't place him quite so easily as I did the first two. Something just didn't fit.  
  
"Excuse me." My calm voice rang out over their argument without being overly loud. I myself was surprised by the almost velvety sound it held. It was so different than the voice I used when I was thinking. I hadn't seen the need for words in such a long time that I had forgotten what my own voice sounded like. The arguers fell silent and studied me, the newcomer.  
  
"Mister. Please tell them I'm not a passenger! I don't have a bunk up here. If these buffoons would let me go back to my deck I'd gladly lay down for landing but ya know they won't let me. I mean if I was a passenger surely ya'd have noticed me! Right?" I blinked at his overly long speech and nodded. It was true that I now knew ever passenger by sight at least. And a braid that long is not easy to forget or overlook.  
  
"The boy is correct. He is not a passenger. However if it would reassure your minds he will share my bunk." Just as the words left my mouth I realized how foolish I must sound. Surely I couldn't be much older than the other boy. Even with my uniform on and a megaphone I was not the most commanding presence in the world. I was more built to blend in. One of the stewards looked at me and nodded at his companion.  
  
"Of course, Sir. Pleasant journeying and uh…have a nice landing." A smirk. Something defiantly out of the ordinary here. The two left us alone while my senses were still on high alert. Answers would be forth coming.  
  
"Hey, thanks man. I owe ya one!" He waited for me to respond. I just leaned against the wall and stared at him. "Ah ok……guess ya don't talk much. My name's Duo. I may run and hide, but I don't tell a lie!" He grinned waiting for this to sink in. All he got was a blink in return. "Err…I'll just go to my bunk now. See ya around!"  
  
With that he turned to leave and almost immediately felt my hand on his shoulder. He twisted around to look at my face. Impassive as always I knew. "What?" With a gentle yet firm push I set him against the wall.  
  
"Answers." A single word is often all that's needed to get your meaning across. It often leads to the mistake that I didn't know proper Basic. And that leads to the idea that I'm not particularly bright. Its saves a lot of effort.  
  
"Answers? Answers to what? Ya haven't even asked me a question yet. I mean ya seem like a pretty bright guy. Surely ya'd know that ya have to ask a question to get an answer. Or did ya want to know about our little encounter back there. Cause that's simple enough. I'm an engineer, got a nice little bunk down with the engines." Duo shrugged a pause in his nonstop talking. "Ain't exactly the best but its mine. Now can I please go?"  
  
I shook my head and propelled him back to my bunk. "Awww man. I really do have a bunk. Ya don't have to share."  
  
I paused and gave him a look. "I'm not."  
  
Duo spun around to glare at me. "If I have to stay in a bunk you do too. 'sides you're a passenger. Don't wanna get sick on the way down. Landing can be pretty rough ya know."  
  
"Third Wing," was my only reply. For some small reason I enjoyed watching Duo's mouth drop open as he gaped at me. For several more moments he stared at me in shock. He shut his mouth and climbed up to my bunk still in speechless shock. I heard the sound of the restraints being pulled over a body, which seemed to shake Duo out of his trance-like shock.  
  
"WHAT?!!? How in space is this supposed to be any help!?" I sighed and slide down the opposite wall to a sitting position. This landing would be easy compared to some I'd been through. I tuned out Duo's rather incessant ramblings and waited to arrive. 


	3. Chapter 3 Third Wing and a Church

Shelled  
  
  
  
The landing wasn't as smooth as the company had advertised, but quite a bit smoother than anything I had experienced. Normally the Third Wing was an exploratory …fleet, I guess you could say. With the outbreak of tensions on Earth we had been ordered home to 'preserve the peace'. As anyone could tell that didn't turn out the way it was supposed to.  
  
Shortly after touching down the boy, Duo, climbed down out my bunk. I concentrated on being more or less invisible wishing to observe his next actions. He glanced towards me on the opposite wall, then both ways down the corridor. With no one about yet he raced down one hall, becoming no more than a blur of light. Strange that…… I shook my head minutely and got up from my place at the wall. Like most people he had seen exactly what he wanted to see. A sleeping soldier. A slight smirk flitted across my face. I still had the touch.  
  
The ladder wavered for a second and I put my hand out to steady myself, unsure of whether it was my vision or truly the ship that had changed. The solid feel of metal reassured me. I could deal with my own health changing but not reality. All the same my throat was now dry as I heaved myself up to my bunk, yet again avoiding the hand of the same passenger as before. There laying on the pillow was a chain with a burnished cross and a note. I lay down, there not being enough room to sit, and opened the note. Written in no less then three languages was a short message.  
  
  
  
Hey!  
  
I wasn't quite sure what language you knew how to read so I just did all the ones I knew. Thanks for your help pal. I owe you one. Of course, it would have helped if you had given me your name……oh well. Meet me outside an hour after disembarking. I'd be there sooner but I do have work. I'll help you out with lodgings and a job. You'll need the money.  
  
Duo S. Maxwell.  
  
  
  
Maxwell…Where had I heard that name? I cast about in my memory bringing to mind all the ship gossip or news I had ever heard. Before long my eyes had widened as I recalled the place where I had heard it. It may seem a common name but the incident was anything but common.  
  
Maxwell Church was a well known church. It took in orphans, not only of a single colony but of all colonies and even from Earth. There orphans received education fitting to their physical and mental needs. Even the "special" ones. Then something strange happened. The Church caught on fire. Although it was pouring the whole time the flames refused to die out. Firefighters by the dozens all turned out to help. Nothing doused the flames. Even with such a fire there still should have been survivors. There were none. Everyone perished. It was one of the most puzzling stories ever to hit the news. If Duo was from Maxwell Church…  
  
No. It was just a coincidence. No one survived. Still…maybe I would take up his offer, and learn more about him. 


	4. Chapter 4 Areida and a Katakana

Shelled  
  
  
  
As I said before Areida was dreary. It was drizzling constantly ever since we set down. My hair was beginning to become plastered to my face. Habitually I glanced overhead checking the sun for the time. A wry grin almost crept across my face. There were so many clouds you wouldn't be able to even detect a slight brightness.  
  
My roving eye caught the glimpse of a braid and I straightened automatically. Perhaps the hour was up. With my usual grace I moved silently through the crowd until I was behind the boy. "Duo?" I shook my head slightly still unused to the notion of speaking to someone. Duo turned and nearly strangled a few strangers with his braid. It would have been extremely painful if it had hit someone's neck.  
  
"Hey! Nice ta see ya again!" His violet eyes studied me frankly. "Think I know the perfect place for you. Well……maybe……If he doesn't kill me first…" I raised an eyebrow. Interesting. Duo grinned, "Ah don't worry man! We're best friends!" Duo started to walk away before pausing and looking back at me. "Ya comin?" I nodded and followed slightly behind giving me a chance to asses Duo again. Maybe I could figure something out.  
  
As before Duo was dressed in a strange black costume, almost like a priests. The pants were baggy until they reached about knee level the became skin tight. This was matched to a black shirt, also loose, with a small nitch where a white collar, or undershirt, peeked out.  
  
Maybe…he was from Maxwell Church… No. I had to stop thinking like that. As if the faceless soldier would meet someone that well known.  
  
Duo stopped and I barely managed to avoid running into him. Curse my thoughts, I should have been paying attention to where we were going and instead I was thinking about my guide! I looked around trying to figure out where I was. And how I got here.  
  
In front of me stood well…a shack. It looked as if a gust of wind could blow it down. On every side were buildings in better or worse repair. Duo smirked. "Meet your new home." I looked at him expressionless. The braided one just grinned and knocked on the door. "HEY!! CHANG WUFEI GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE!" Dear God! I winced and moved away slightly. Distance equals quiet. A piece of the wall came flying open, or maybe it was the door.  
  
"Duo.." That one word held a world of warning in it. The newcomer, Chang Wufei apparently, stood in the doorway glaring at Duo. Again the sense of not being able to classify struck me. He was oriental in ethnicity with jet black hair sleeked back. In his hand he held on ancient type of sword, a katakana(SP?).  
  
"Yeah Yeah You'll chop off my braid. I KNOW!" Duo sounded slightly irritated something not to be expected with his jokers attitude. "Look Fei. I need your help. This guy," Duo jerked a finger towards me "he helped me out a lot and he needs a place to stay and you're the only one that I could call a favor in on so I brought him here and-" 'Fei' cut him off.  
  
"Do you even know who he is!? He could be anyone! SALLY!!!" I raised an eyebrow. This was almost definatly not what Duo had planned.  
  
"BUSY! Deal with it!" Came the answer from inside the shack. A small smirk played across my face. It was clear who was the boss in this situation. 'Fei' as Duo had called him was an oriental boy no older no younger than Dou or I. His deep brown, almost black, eyes peered at me suspiciously.  
  
"Look Fei. I trust him." Duo was perfectly serious. He wasn't joking or pleading, yet another facet revealed. The other boy looked uneasy but nodded stepping away from the door. That one phrase had done what reason did not. Yes…something was strange about these two. Without another word Duo shot a thankful glance at Chang Wufei and motioned me inside. 


	5. Chapter 5 Scanners and Threats

Shelled 5  
  
It took all of my self-control not to gape at the inside. To say it was astounding would be an understatement. Instead of rotting walls and dirt floors like one would suspect it was almost palatial in appearance. Built into the sturdy walls were screens displaying all the vital statistics of the city and other major centers through out the galaxy. Scanners, a device used to detect electronic surveillance were hung in every corner. Sturdy tables littered the room adorned with every type of junk known to man and probably a few that weren't. Although the room didn't hold any type of weaponry it almost should have. It would have made far more sense. I felt more than heard Chang Wufei and Duo Maxwell crowd behind me trying to get in far enough to close the door. Not surprising seeing what secret they had to hide. Perhaps this made me feel more relaxed about Duo. Before he had seemed……open. Too open. Humans always have something to hide. Myself included.  
  
I moved aside just enough to let them through. They could do what they liked but I needed to think. What kind of person held these types of secrets? Chang Wufei's face flitted into my thoughts and I paused to consider him. Another one that was unplacable. I thought I knew everything there was to know about humanity and it's actions, reactions, emotions and even types of people.  
  
But Chang Wufei……… He had seemed uptight, aggressive, and fully capable of taking care of himself. He was in all likelihood a fighter, but where could he have learned………… While fighting wasn't outlawed it was so frowned upon outside the Wings, the space fleet that were "keepers of the peace", that few, if any, dared teach others how to fight. His actions suggested he was far older than his physical age. Yet…he was about 16. He should have been in school by all rights. So should have Duo come to think of it. Good…I had pinned down yet another thing that was bothering me about them. The door slammed and a hand thrust itself into my vision.  
  
"Chang Wufei. Call me Wufei when you must speak to me at all." It was an arrogant introduction at best. "You will not speak of this area at all. You will not bring anyone here. And you will not tamper with anything you see." Wufei stressed the last not. A single eyebrow rose in question. Wufei caught it and just glared before turning away to a doorway. "You will sleep in here." He indicated the room just beyond. It was barely larger than a closet or one of the bunks I had previously using. A simply cot was pushed up against the wall. One part of my mind idly wondered where he had found it, since it seemed to be the ancient mattress kind. I nodded and brushed past him setting my meager belongings on the bed. Duo spoke up for the first time since we entered.  
  
"See! I told ya he wouldn't be any trouble! ……or did I… I can't remember. Ah well! So wanna go job hunting?!" Duo's brief seriousness passed without any harm to his ever present grin as far as I could tell. It still seemed etched into his face. Without waiting for an answer he managed to bounce, or race, or something between the two, towards the door. I nodded needlessly moving to brush past Wufei again. His hand blocked me from following and I glanced at him startled at this restraint. My own eyes sought his and I shivered at the message I saw written in the near fathomless pools of black and deep brown that were his eyes. 


	6. Chapter 6 Jobs and Fights

The incident between Wufei and I passed without comment from anyone else, namely Duo. The laughing boy didn't say a word about it to me. Perhaps...No. I had to focus on what was necessary now. I had to focus on getting a job.  
  
I soon discovered that getting a job was much easier said than done. Everyone was suspious of any human who claimed to be a refugee from earth. I say human because...well... ...mutants were known to exist and perhaps the only beings that could or rather should have been able to survive through Earth's death. Each shopkeeper or supervisor stared at me suspiciously before shaking their head and silently turning back to work. Even those who were obviously short-handed would mumble something about foreigners and turn away not even acknowledging either Duo or I.  
  
After the 10th rejection I think Duo finally got the idea that it wasn't going to work. A strange expression had crossed his face and he gestured for me to follow as he left the shop silently. Warily I followed but once out in the bustling square I lost sight of Duo. Now it wasn't his fault and I'm certain it wasn't my own. Duo could weave through the people as if he were made of water, ever homing in on one goal. I however had never cultivated that ability. In short...I got lost.  
  
And yet.........looking back on it perhaps it wasn't quite an accident. But I shall leave that for later. I had wandered around for quite a while in the drizzling rain before finally admitting I would be unable to find either Duo or a way back to my new "home". I ducked into a sheltered alley to catch my breath. Fate, or chance, or which ever it is that dictates life, decided then to throw me into the middle of a strange fight. No more than a second passed before, from out of the dense shadows, a body slammed up against me. Instinctively I spun it behind me and tensed nearly imperceptibly. The same deep gloom that created the body spawned three more figures, all single mindedly charging at the slight body crouched behind me. It was if I didn't even exist. A feral smile crossed my face as adrenaline filled my body. They would learn not to ignore me, if they lived long enough.  
  
A slight step to the side and a downward jab sent the first figure sprawling never to move again. Yet still the other two did not acknowledge me. I moved quickly, repeating my action before they could come much closes to the body I was protecting. Two down, one left. The last figure paused seeming, for the first time, to figure out that there was another fighter here. It was for just a moment but it was for long enough. Almost before I consciously thought of what I wanted to do I found my body moving. It was as if watching a movie, seeing myself move several steps forward and the glint of a knife flying through the air. My knife was the only weapon I carried only, mostly due to the fact the customs officials saw it as so archaic that they forgot the deadly accuracy with which it could be thrown. It found its mark, buried deep into what should have been the figures skull. At any rate the figure fell, and I turned to see who it was that I had saved.  
  
He, or she, stood up slowly, scanning the shadows. "What are you?" His voice, for it was male in timbre, sounded strained, fear and stress leaking into the words. He spun around, as if I had somehow been able to get behind him. "Where are you!?!" His voice shook. I stepped closer to him, my footstep sounding hollow on the pavement. "I'm right here." 


End file.
